Up Early, Out Further

I woke up well before my alarm went off this morning, Modern Philosophers.  I could have rolled over, and gotten more sleep, but I decided to go in another direction.

Namely, a couple of miles due east of The House on the Hill.

Instead of grabbing some extra shut eye, I chose to throw caution to the wind, and get an early start to my day.  I popped out of bed, put on my running gear, and hit the road.

Since I was well ahead of schedule, I knew I could go for a longer run.  I usually limit myself to about a half hour of road time on a work day.  The distance varies depending on how motivated I am to set a pace, but the time is locked in due to my having to get to the office and chain myself to my desk.

So it was nice to be able to improvise on a beautiful Maine morning.  It was warm enough to wear shorts and a tee shirt without a windbreaker.  I had my tunes cranked, the road to myself, and no negative thoughts to hold me back.

Much like my writing style, I decided to just wing it and see where this morning’s running story elected to take me.

It was a great run, a steady pace, and when I got back to The House on the Hill, I knew I’d made the right decision in picking running over sleeping.

As expected, this longer run was just the beginning of a kick ass day.  For some odd reason, I was actually in a good mood all day.  I was cracking jokes, singing, and telling wild tales about my crocheting skills.

I really have no crocheting skills, but I spent the day taking credit for a crocheted American flag blanket hanging near my desk.  My goal was to see how many crazy stories I could make up about designing it.

I think my favorite was that I had crocheted only forty-nines starts into the flag because I had hated living in California so much, that I refused to let it have a spot on my version of the stars and stripes.

Yes, Modern Philosophers, that yarn actually inspired the person on the receiving end to count the stars in the flag to see if I was telling the truth.

Me lie?  Surely, you jest!

The moral of my story, and this part is no crocheting inspired lie, is that running can be beneficial to more than your health.  By getting up early and deciding to kick ass, rather than spend a little extra time in Dreamland, I improved my mood, got my creative juices flowing, and made myself want to serenade whoever was lucky enough to be within the sound of my voice.

Perhaps the next time you wake up before your alarm, you can take that as a sign from Nike, the goddess of health and wellness, to get out of bed and get moving.  You don’t have to run.  Just be active.

Like I always say, “Something always beats nothing”.  Every step you take by getting up early are steps you wouldn’t have taken if you’d gone back to sleep.

Unless, of course, you’re a sleep walker.  If that’s the case, all bets are off.

I’m just saying that a little active time in the morning might make your entire day better. Isn’t it worth exploring that possibility?

Have fun out there!

Are you going to take my advice, and get up and do something active the next time to wake up before your alarm?